Woodworking Tip #6: Magazine Storage

This feature works extremely well in keeping bound magazines upright, parallel and straight rather than becoming a huge accordion.  A partition is added to the shelf, in this case set in its own groove and about 2/3 the width of the magazine. The thickness of the partition is equal to the difference between the magazine's thickness at the spine and  leaf edge, times the number of magazines between partitions.   Don't do the math.  Just stack some magazines and determine the right number by trial and error with a piece of the partition laying on the leaf edge.  Your collection will look beautiful, and the need for boxes is obviated.  The issues are easy to remove as well.

Tool Tip #7: Sleeves to Shoulders

In my penchant for quick access to tools, I've found the best way to place a small diameter tool or bit in pegboard is often just to stick it straight in.  This is made more feasible by the fact that the pegboard is mounted over 1.5" of high density foam which holds it shape well.  Doing "in and out" too much, however, erodes and enlarges the hole.   The solution is to create a shoulder for the hole with a sleeve, in this case a Knape & Vogt sleeve actually designed to receive a shelf support spoon with a .25" pin diameter.  Since the external diameter of the sleeve is greater than the diameter of the pegboard hole these sleeves fit nice and tight, providing permanent reinforcement.  Of course, using these sleeves for actual shelf supports provides durability, security and beauty.

Lean Thinking Tip #4: No Step, No Put

Few surfaces are more inviting to put down whatever is in your hands as the pristine, shiny table of a table saw.   Now take a look at this Airbus wing, perhaps click on the image to enlarge, and you will see two small placards stating: “NO STEP....”  Implied are dire results, even damage to the wing.  I’ve been thinking of printing placards, inspired by those "NO STEP" ones found on aircraft,  for all the nice flat tool beds, workbenches and seeming tables in my shop. They would state:  “NO PUT.”  Yes, because every time you do put some non-workpiece down on a work surface, damage does occur, damage to productivity, even safety.  I’ve actually found myself having to move a handful of objects stored on the tiny bed of the disc sander.  Just think, walking into your workspace:  every work surface free and ready to use. Wishful thinking!

The Purpose of this Blog

The primary purpose of the Flying Circus Studios Blog is to provide a flexible online portfolio of my work for potential customers, for past customers, whose work is shown, though anonymously, and for friends, family and the curious.  The task of converting nearly three decades of film images still lies before me.  Secondarily I use this Blog to share some of the tips and hints I've gleaned over the years both in reference to woodworking and aviation, sometimes even with analogy.  These currently fall in five categories:  Flying Hints, Tool Tips, Woodworking Tips, Lean Thinking Tips and Finishing Tips.  Using the Google "search this blog" tool one can view the text of all the entries in any one category (use the singular, e.g. Tool Tip).  My hope is that one of these might prove useful to you and that my readers share them with their like-minded compeers.